The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is beginning to take public comment on where a planned public drift-boat takeout on the lower Kasilof River should be built, as well as what facilities it should include.
According to DNR’s Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, money has been received to fund the project, which would complement an Alaska State Parks public boat launch at Mile 109.4 of the Sterling Highway.
Since the 1980s, the department said it has received comments from the public about the need for a public takeout area. In 2007 the concern became greater when a private boat retrieval site announced it would close.
DNR says a 2008 feasibility study of building boat launch/retrieval facilities at two points along the lower Kasilof showed that neither site was fully suited to the purpose. In testimony at the time, members of the public said they were worried about a possible power-boat takeout disrupting nearby drift-boat fisheries, as well as area neighborhoods being choked with additional traffic.
